JAMES BOND
NEWS

007 MAGAZINE was in attendance this week as legendary photographer Terry O'Neill launched his new exhibition and book All About Bond at the Proud Gallery on Chelsea's Kings Road.

Given that Ian Fleming's James Bond lived in a flat just off the Kings Road, it is somehow appropriate that Proud Chelsea is the location for a stunning exhibition of some of photographer Terry O'Neill's huge collection of 007 focused photography, which opened on Thursday night with a signing event with the great man himself.

007 MAGAZINE publisher Graham Rye and writer Luke Williams were both in attendance at the signing event, as were 007 MAGAZINE's special guests – Bond girls Martine Beswicke (From Russia With Love and Thunderball) and Jane Spencer (Never Say Never Again and A View To A Kill) and a host of other luminaries from the London 'cultural set', including film director Hugh Hudson (director of the film classic Chariots of Fire). Hudson is also married, of course, to The Living Daylights leading lady Maryam d'Abo and, to extend the Bond connection even further, he was also a close colleague and friend of the legendary From Russia With Love and Goldfinger titles designer Robert Brownjohn.

Having photographed every Bond from Connery to Craig (including David Niven in 1967’s Casino Royale for good measure!) the 50th anniversary of Dr. No was seen as an ideal opportunity by O'Neill to launch a luxurious hardback book which collects some of the most memorable, unusual and striking images taken during his frequent visits to Bond film sets and numerous Bond-related photo shoots of the past 49 years, dating back to his very first shoot on the Pinewood set of From Russia With Love in 1963.

The Proud exhibition, which runs until 4th November, is an absolute must-see for Bond and photography fans. The highlight of the exhibition (which comprises 37 photos in total, all beautifully composed and presented) is arguably the selection of O'Neill's stunning work in Las Vegas during the shooting of Diamonds Are Forever – including a sumptuous shot of Sean Connery surrounded by a bevy of gorgeous Vegas showgirls, and a sensational shot of Connery playing golf with an astronaut acting as caddy on the lunar landscape set of the same film (a shot, incidentally, that was lost for several years until re-united with O'Neill thanks to the research skills of 007 MAGAZINE's Graham Rye, just in time to feature in the book, exhibition, and many current magazine articles!).

With limited edition prints of all the work in the Proud gallery on sale throughout the exhibition, no serious 007 fan can afford to miss this exhibit or, indeed, miss out on purchasing a copy of All About Bond, which features a huge host of additional images that are not part of the exhibition.

Proud Chelsea | 161 King’s Road | London | SW3 5XP

t: 020 7839 4942
Open Monday – Sunday, 10am – 7pm.

Limited edition prints will be available to purchase for the duration of the exhibition.

PHOTOGRAPHS/GRAHAM RYE
All black & white images © Terry O’Neill

JAMES BOND FACT FILES